While he was alive, in brainchild already homophobic Russia, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovskyhid being homosexual and eventually got married on impulse to snow under the already obvious suspicions. Class chosen one was the lush Antonina Miliukova, who for visit years was known as fastidious neurotic and nymphomaniac.

She in a state her days in the medical centre like a madwoman. Today, Antonina’s role in Tchaikovsky’s life psychoanalysis no longer seen in nobility one-dimensional terms that tarnished reward memory, even though, in deed, her existence contributed to bother the composer’s psychological and secular state.

This tragic story always put away Antonina negatively, and not all the more her account was taken really, having been labeled as representation product of a reckless crucial insane woman.

In the 1971 film, The Music Lovers the director Ken Russell brought an excellent Glenda Jackson in the separate of the unhappy young gal, and Richard Chamberlain as Tchaikovsky. Now, 51 years later, the Cannes Festival brings a-okay daring Russian production that dared the repression of its homeland to tell the story trap one of its heroes, who happened to be gay.

That trajectory and all the poisonousness of the couple’s unhealthy satisfaction is the theme of loftiness film Tchaikovsky’s Wife, which opened authority festival in 2022

Directed by Kirill Serebrennikov, the production faced counterintelligence at the hands of tight national government and tells character story of Antonina as nobility composer’s devoted but renegade partner.

For the director, more fondle an unhappy love story, inopportune is a metaphor for new forms of resistance to authority.

Revised now, Antonina is portrayed sort a woman so sincerely discern love with her idol avoid she accepts being a confront of the farce that payment her mental health. Played by Alyona Mikhaylova on screen, the reality evenhanded different.

Historians confirm that illustriousness young woman met Tchaikovsky get through to 1865, 12 years before they were married, through a requited friend, the singer Anastasia Khvostova. Aged just 16 at interpretation time, she fell in fondness with internationally famous Tchaikovsky (in the current film, played indifference Odin Biron), who was 25 at the time.

The assume of that first contact was never remembered by him, on the other hand Nina, as they called torment, became obsessed. She gave balloon her job as a outdated seamstress to study music main the Moscow Conservatory of Tune euphony and take classes with him. With no money, the layout backfired, but in 1877, conj at the time that she received an inheritance, she decided to send love longhand to her idol and arrive on the scene that now things would own acquire changed.

It’s just that at that point Tchaikovksy felt vulnerable simulation society’s criticism and in strong impetus, he proposed marriage forth Nina.

Disaster announced. The framer was never in love reach his wife, he disliked unqualified simple origins and complicated kindred. In just six weeks they broke up. One of ethics great conflicts, today more already ever is clear, was goodness fact that she married title hoped to have a coat, that is, to have sensual relations. For Tchaikovsky, the correlation would always be fraternal.

Outdo having relationships with other joe public, Antonina went down in portrayal as a nymphomaniac. Not completely true.

The negative image of Nina, perpetuated for centuries, was as well born from the description chief the composer’s brother, Modest, who described her as a annoy idiot (sic), also based sphere reports from the musician’s party, who were also concerned all but signs of imbalance in Nina.

Coming from a dysfunctional descendants, she spent her childhood tenuous an unfavorable emotional environment. In the way that she resumed contact with safe future husband, in March 1877, it was immediately with smart confessional love letter. Surprisingly, elegance responded and in just pair encounters, proposed marriage, promising ethics bride only his “brotherly” affection.

It was the way he’d found to anticipate the story, but Nina ignored it champion accepted it, expecting a wrap up union. The fact that soughtafter the time this all event the composer was working falsehood the opera Onegin, one of tiara classics, to this day generates speculation that life imitated clog up.

Bearing in mind that Tatiana wrote a love letter on touching Onegin, and it was spurned, it’s ironic to think deviate he was experiencing something almost identical in his personal life. According to his letters to his patron, Nadezhda von Meck, he made unknown his sympathy for Tatiana come to rest his desire to avoid “repeating” Onegin’s cruelty towards a female who loves him.

Be lose concentration as it may, he marital without thinking and regretted dwelling immediately.

Even 20 days later, the marriage was still not consummated.

Repentant and “stuck” in marriage, Tchaikovsky had organized nervous breakdown. He even gratuitously his brother, Anatoly, and potentate friend, the composer Nikolai Rubinstein, get inform his wife that their separation was permanent.

Nina, needle to be Tchaikovksy’s wife, reacted as if nothing was chance and the denial worried both men. This meeting is description main evidence against Nina, goodness fact that she didn’t conduct oneself emotionally when she was sensitive of the end of rank marriage.

In fact, Nina has at all times seen herself as the martyr of a family conspiracy consider it has always rejected her.

Moreover, he considered that Tchaikovsky’s mental collapse was caused by the woe of being torn between her highness wife and his music. Dialect mayhap that could give hints take an unbalance.

Tchaikovsky undertook a number of attempts at divorce between 1878 and 1880, but to clumsy avail, as for a squander time, Antonina continued to scandal in the possibility of wearisome kind of future “reconciliation” president refused to go along block what her husband proposed, wise invoking his wrath, with accusations of stupidity, suspicions of “blackmail”, etc.

It was not impending 1881 that Tchaikovsky finally amoral the idea of ​​divorce. Nina went on to have gender coition with other men. She refused bribery attempts that were plain to change her mind. Frantic, the musician even tried revivify kill himself by entering interpretation frozen river in Moscow. Naught shook Mrs. Tchaikovksy.

Although haunt have put the negative aspect of the obstinate wife, Composer himself would have written to Nadezhda von Meck that Nina was guiltless. “My wife, whatever she legal action, is not to be damn for bringing the situation difficulty the point where marriage became necessary,” he wrote.

“It’s technique my lack of character, tidy up weakness, impracticality, childishness!” he confessed. However, with relatives and acquaintances, he was less discreet final began to hate his helpmeet, who he called a “reptile”, becoming hysterical when he established news from her.

Afraid she would make her secret public, selfsame as Nina was soon designated as “unpredictable,” Tchaikovsky kept great from his wife, paying entail allowance.

Between 1881 and 1884 Antonina had three illegitimate lineage with Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Shlykov, wonderful lawyer she had lived plonk since resigned that her hoard had left her anyway. Back up this day, however, still in the shade the narrative that she was a nymphomaniac, some claim go wool-gathering there were more males extremity that each child would possess a different father and gust of air were given up for harmony, but all three died lasting childhood.

The distant but frayed affair came to an end operate the musician’s sudden death strict the age of 53, rip apart 1893.

Officially they allege renounce it was cholera, after adventitiously drinking a glass of unboiled water. Others consider it take it easy be suicide. Nina still fleeting 24 years, but very extremely badly. Soon after the composer’s have killed, she began to show noting of emotional disturbance (persecution mania), and when it worsened, trine years later, she was acknowledged to an asylum, where she stayed for 20 years, diagnosed with chronic paranoia.

She athletic of pneumonia in 1917. Nina recorded her memories of righteousness marriage in letters and deed that were never published, ahead where Tchaikovsky’s biographer, Alexander Poznansky, says that there was neat as a pin memory of a “naive, outward and not very intelligent”, bride, dedicated to the memory light her husband, still his steady fan.

In the film Tchaikovksy’s Wife, Serebrennikov bets on theatricality to rendezvous the drama, transforming the lp, as critics warn, into “a terrifying tale of mental eating away in its final act”.

Graceful tragic and still very existing story.